Ryanair Sues ‘Disruptive Passenger’ For €15,000, Argues Alcohol At Airports Should Be Capped At Two Drinks
A disruptive passenger that caused a diversion is being sued for €15,000 by Ryanair.
Ryanair revealed the details of the cost and fees it incurred as a direct result of a passenger on board its flight from Dublin to Lanzarote on 9th April 2024.
Due to the passenger’s behaviour, the company wrote, the aircraft was forced to divert to Porto, where it landed and the passenger was offloaded and arrested.
Due to crew hours restrictions the aircraft, crew and over 160 passengers were forced to overnight in Porto Airport, with the cost of accommodation, meals, and more being funded entirely by Ryanair. The airline also had to provide an additional aircraft and crew to operate the delayed return flight from Lanzarote to Dublin, which took place on 10th April 2024.
The company further argued that “it is time” for EU authorities to limit the sale of alcohol at airports to two drinks.
Ryanair broke down the €15,350 it is seeking from the disruptive passenger:
€800 – Excess fuel
€7,000 – Passenger and crew overnight accommodation
€2,500 – Porto airport landing/handling fees
€750 – Loss of inflight sales
€1,800 – Replacement crew costs
€2,500 – Portuguese legal fees (to date).
“European Govts repeatedly fail to take action when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert,” a Ryanair spokesperson said.
In this case, the Portuguese Prosecution ruled that because the aircraft and the passenger are Irish, this case should be transferred to Ireland. Ryanair is therefore taking a civil proceeding against this passenger in the Irish Courts to recover these costs.
The spokesperson maintained that alcohol sales at airports should be limited to two drinks, arguing that flight delays causes passengers to drink excessively
“We fail to understand why passengers at airports are not limited to 2 alcoholic drinks (using their boarding pass in exactly the same way they limit duty free sales), as this would result in safer and better passenger behaviour on board aircraft, and a safer travel experience for passengers and crews all over Europe.”
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